This Gift
by KeybladeDetweiler
Summary: As Christmas gets closer, Sora and Alex get their gifts for each other ready...at the cost of spending less time together. Pairing Sora/OC.


Sora handed a bag full of items to the Moogle in charge at the Radiant Garden synthesis shop.  
"You're getting closer to what you need to make that ring, kupo." the creature said, putting the items under the counter. "I think that girl is going to like it, kupo."  
"I hope so." Sora said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm really waiting 'til the last minute with this."  
"Well, if you keep going at the rate you're at, kupo, you'll be able to make it in no time."  
"How many more Mythril Shards do I need?"  
"Ten, kupo. The ring you're making, while very simple, takes a lot of items."  
"Time to bash more Heartless." Donald, who had been listening to their conversation, said as he turned back towards the Borough. "And all for a present you could just buy at the jewelry stall….."  
"They don't have the ring at that stall, Donald. Besides, it means more if I make it." Sora said, following him.  
"Then why can't you just buy the items you need?"  
"'Cause it means even more if I get the items myself!"  
"Even if it takes forever…." Donald rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go get some more Mythril Shards."

As the boys headed back towards the Borough, they heard a familiar voice.  
"Sora! Wait up!"  
Sora turned to see the brown-haired girl who had called his name running up the steps towards them.  
"Hey Alex!" he said, waving at her.  
"Hi! Where are you going?" she asked.  
"Off to fight some Heartless."  
"Can I come? I need to get in some practice."  
"Uh…."  
She sighed. "I get it. Still too busy."  
"No, it's not that! I just…."  
"No, I understand. Go ahead. I've got stuff to do anyway." She turned back towards the marketplace, but before she could leave, Sora grabbed her hand. She turned to look at him.  
"No…wait. C'mon, we could use your help." he smiled at her.  
She smiled back, then summoned her sword. "Ok. Let's go." In seconds, she was already on her way to the Borough, and could be heard attacking the Heartless that got in her way.  
"But Sora! You're fighting these Heartless to get the items to make her Christmas present!" Donald said as the three of them started after her.  
"We don't have to tell her why we're doing it. She won't ask; we're always fighting Heartless." the boy replied as he attacked a Morning Star that had appeared in front of him.  
"But what if she does ask?"  
"I'll think of something to tell her if she does."  
After clearing out a few Yellow Operas that were in her way, Alex snagged the munny and the lucid shard they had dropped. She put the munny in her bag, and as she prepared to put the shard in her bag, Sora stopped her.  
"Can we have that?" he asked.  
"Oh, this?" She looked at the shard. "Sure. I have plenty of them. What do you need it for?" she asked as she handed it to him.  
"Uh….we're getting them for Merlin. He needs them for an experiment."  
"Really? I tried to give him some extra items, but he said he had plenty of all the ones he needed."  
"Oh…uh…" Sora looked around uncertainly. He had no idea what to say.  
"I know! You need them to synthesize more Ethers, don't you?" she smiled.  
"Yeah! That's it. More Ethers. Donald's been using them like crazy."  
"I have not!" the duck protested.  
"Yeah you have." Sora elbowed the duck a few times, trying to get him to play along.  
"I thought so." Alex said. "Well, if you need any extra items, I've got plenty."  
"Nah, it's okay. We don't want to take them from you."  
"It's no trouble. I'm going to sell them anyway. I need the munny for Christmas presents."  
"Then we _really_ shouldn't take them from you."  
Alex pulled a Mythril Shard from her bag and extended it to him. "Here. Consider it an early Christmas present." she smiled.  
"Thanks." he took it and stuck it in his pocket. "Hey, you want to go get some ice cream?"  
"Sure."

The group headed back to the Marketplace, and Sora bought four sticks of ice cream. As Scrooge McDuck handed them their ice cream, he mumbled to himself, "Still not enough data to sell my skateboard."  
"Hey, what's wrong?" Sora asked him.  
"I don't have enough data to start selling my skateboard yet. Would you mind testing it some more for me, laddie?"  
"Sure thing." Sora reached for the board resting against Scrooge's stall.  
"Don't you think you should finish your ice cream first?" the duck asked.  
"I can board while holding it." Sora replied as he stepped on the skateboard. He quickly skated away.  
"Well, be careful! And make sure to keep it in the Borough!" Scrooge called after him.  
"We'll make sure he's careful Uncle Scrooge." Donald said as he headed after Sora.

Alex, Donald, and Goofy followed Sora to the Borough and ate their ice cream as they watched him do a series of tricks, like leap over walls and do 360° spins in the air.  
"He sure is good at that skateboarding, ain't he." Goofy said to Alex. "Reminds me of my son Max. He loves skateboardin'!"  
"Yeah, he sure is." Alex smiled as she watched Sora grind along the top of one of many stone walls. Suddenly, she remembered something.

The present she was getting for Sora.

"Oh my gosh! I totally forgot!" she gasped. She finished her ice cream and tossed the stick aside. Then she grabbed her Star Shard and began fumbling with it, trying to get it to start. As she worked at it with one hand, she tapped Goofy on the shoulder with the other and said, "Hey Goofy, I've got to go somewhere; I just remembered something. Will you tell Sora that I love him and that I'm sorry for leaving so soon?"  
"Sure thing. Where are ya going?"  
"I have to go get a Christmas present. I completely forgot about it until just now."  
"I understand. Ya gotta have a present for the Christmas Eve party tomorrow!"  
"Yeah, and this one's really important. I can't believe I forgot it!"  
"I'll make sure to tell him. You go get that present!"  
"Thanks Goofy!" Alex said, and with that her Star Shard began to glow and she was shot into the sky.

A few minutes later, Sora was done skateboarding. As he pulled to a stop in front of Donald and Goofy, he noticed that Alex was gone.  
"Hey, where'd Alex go?" he asked, looking around for her as he got off the board.  
"She went to go do some last minute Christmas shopping." Goofy said. "She sends her love. Ahyuck!"  
"I thought she was done." Donald said with a huff.  
"Yeah, me too." Sora said with a sigh. Then, he got an idea.  
"Hey! Maybe we can go help her out!" he said brightly.  
"If she wanted our help, she would have asked us to come with her." Donald growled, heavily opposed to the idea. "Besides, we have to finish getting the items to make her present, since you don't want to buy it like a normal person."  
"We have plenty of time! We can work on getting items later."  
"Uh, Sora," Goofy said. But the boy was already on his way to the Gummi Ship.  
"Oh brother." Donald sighed, before yelling "Don't forget, _I'm_ driving!" and running after him.  
"Oh…" Goofy gulped as he ran after them.

* * *

Alex stood at the Synthesis shop in Tram Common, in her home world of Twilight Town. She was discussing custom skateboards with the Moogle in charge.  
"So, kupo, you said you wanted the outline of a heart with a crown above it as the design on the top of the board?" the Moogle asked her, ready to write the design down on an order form.  
"Yes. The heart needs to be blue, and the crown gold." she said.  
"And what for the bottom's design?"  
"His name, in that cool font."  
"Alrighty. And what is his name?"  
"Sora. S-o-r-a."  
"Ok, kupo. We'll have your order ready by tomorrow afternoon. You can pick it up then. Your total is 8000 munny."  
Alex handed him a heavy bag of munny orbs, which he dropped into a counting machine. When he saw that it was the correct amount, he handed her a confirmation slip.  
"Bring this by tomorrow and we'll have your order for you. Merry Christmas, kupo."  
"You too. Thank you."  
"You're welcome, kupo!"

Alex tucked the slip in her bag, and as she started towards Station Heights, she bumped into someone.  
"Sorry about tha- Sora! What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised to see him.  
"Goofy told me you were doing some last-minute shopping, and I thought I could help." he smiled at her, ready to help with anything.  
"_We_ could help!" Donald reminded him.  
"Sorry. We could help." he smiled.  
"Oh. Well, I just bought the last thing, so I'm done." she replied, stuffing the slip into her bag.  
"Really? Where is it?"  
"I'm picking it up tomorrow."  
"Oh." Sora frowned slightly, but in a moment he was smiling again. "Since you're done, you want to come with me to Sunset Hill? We can get something to eat on the way, if you want."  
"Sora…" Donald grumbled as he rolled his eyes.  
"I'd love to Sora, but I can't. I have somewhere to be." Alex said. "Sorry."  
"Oh. I understand." he was frowning again. Alex bit her lip; she hated to see him sad. She wanted to go with him, but she'd promised to help make fruitcake at home, something she honestly didn't want to do.  
"I'll see you tomorrow, ok Sora?" she said, smiling apologetically at him before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.  
"Ok." he gave her a small smile that had soon grown into his usual goofy grin. "Love you!"  
"Love you too!" she called back before disappearing up Station Heights.

Once she was gone, Donald turned and death-glared Sora.  
"'Want to come with me to Sunset Hill?'! Sora, we don't have time for playing around! You want to make her present, don't you?"  
"Yeah, but…"  
"Well, stop goofing off! We have Heartless and Nobodies to bash!" he snapped, before heading off in the direction of the Old Mansion.  
Sora sighed as Goofy came up beside him. "What's wrong, Sora?" the knight asked kindly.  
"We've been so busy lately that I haven't had time for her. I wanted to make up for it." he said, before sighing again. His caramel-brown spikes drooped.  
"Aw, it's ok Sora. I'm sure she's been busy too."  
"Yeah, but I feel terrible. Every time she wanted to do something with me, I was too busy for her. Some boyfriend I am."  
"Well, just think of how happy she'll be when she sees that ring you're gonna make for her. You've worked so hard on getting all the items for it!"  
Sora smiled at the thought. "Yeah, you're right."  
"Well, let's go finish gettin' those items!" Goofy said.  
"Yeah! Let's go!"

With heightened spirits, Sora ran after Donald, Goofy not far behind them.

* * *

The next day, after finally acquiring enough items, Sora was getting ready to synthesize Alex's present. He watched as the Radiant Garden synthesis Moogle loaded all the items into the synthesis machine. Before starting it up, the Moogle asked, "Would you like to add a Bright Crystal to your synthesis today?"  
"No thanks."  
"Come on, kupo. Level up a Moogle for Christmas!"  
"Aw…ok." Sora pushed the green crystal across the counter, and the giddy Moogle grabbed it and tossed it into a nearby jar that said "Tips" on it.  
"Oh, thank you kupo!" he said, before starting the machine. In a moment, out popped a shiny, silver ring with the same crown that Sora had on the end of his necklace engraved upon it. The Moogle showed it to Sora.  
"This what you wanted, kupo?"  
"Yeah, that's it."  
"Alright." he handed it to him. "There you go. Merry Christmas, kupo, and thanks for the tip!"  
"You're welcome. And Merry Christmas to you too!" Sora waved to the Moogle as he tucked the ring in his pocket and walked over to Donald and Goofy, who were talking with Scrooge McDuck.  
"No, nephew! You'll not be getting a free ice cream certificate from me!" Scrooge shouted at Donald.  
"But Uncle Scrooge! It's Christmas Eve! And I don't have a gift for Daisy!" Donald begged.  
"Well, if you want the certificate, you'll have to pay for it! No handouts."  
"But I spent all my munny on gifts for Huey, Dewy, and Louie!"  
"Well too bad! Should've bought Daisy's gift sooner. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm closing up shop for Christmas." He shut the door to his shop and locked it.  
"Oh…" Donald sighed as he shook his head wearily. "What am I going to do? Daisy will kill me!"  
"Why didn't ya get her a gift sooner, Donald?" Goofy asked.  
"I was busy helping _him_ get items to make his girlfriend's present." the duck nodded to Sora.  
"Oh yeah!" Sora pulled the ring from his pocket and showed it to them. "What do you think?"  
"Gawrsh! Sure is pretty!" Goofy said with a smile.  
"Yeah, gorgeous…" Donald grumbled.  
"I'm sure she'll like it, laddie." Scrooge said, looking at the ring as he pocketed the keys to his giant, fridge-shaped stall.  
"Oh, can I buy one of those certificates?" Sora asked.  
"Sure thing, laddie! Who's it for?"  
"Alex. I want to make it part of her present."  
"Alright. 1000 munny." Sora handed him the money, and Scrooge gave him a certificate with a picture of sea-salt ice cream on it in return.  
"Remember to tell her that it's good for free ice cream on her next five visits. For her and up to four people, if she wants to bring friends."  
"Ok, thanks." Sora smiled.  
"Of course. Merry Christmas! I'll see you all at the Christmas Eve party tonight!"  
Sora and Goofy waved goodbye to Scrooge as the duck headed to Merlin's, while Donald just sat there fuming. Then, they walked back to the rest of the Marketplace and Sora headed over to the jewelry stall.  
"What are you getting now?" Donald huffed as he came up beside Sora, who was looking into the glass cases where several gold and silver chains lay.  
"I'm thinking about getting her a chain so she can wear the ring around her neck."  
"Rings are for fingers, not chains!"  
"I know, but I think it'll look prettier."  
"He just wants them to match! Ahyuck!" Goofy whisper-chuckled into Donald's ear.  
"Do not!" Sora's face reddened as he shot a glare at his friends before turning back to the case. In a few minutes, he had purchased a long, silver chain for the ring and after putting the ring on it, tucked it carefully into his pocket. While they were at the stall, Donald bought a jeweled ring for Daisy.

Once they were done shopping, the boys climbed aboard the Gummi ship.  
"Ready to go to the big party?" Donald asked excitedly from the driver's seat. With the work done, he was much happier.  
"We're picking up Alex, remember?" Sora reminded him.  
"We can't forget her!" Goofy said.  
"Why do we have to pick her up?! She's got her Star Shard; she can get there herself!" Donald huffed.  
"I promised that I'd pick her up! I'm not about to let her down!" Sora said. "Come on!"  
"All right, fine." Donald grumbled before switching their course from Disney Castle to Twilight Town.

* * *

Alex was running to the synthesis shop to pick up Sora's skateboard. She knew that it wouldn't be long before he, Donald, and Goofy would be there to take her to the Disney Castle Christmas party, so she had to hurry. Panting, she slapped her rumpled confirmation slip on the counter just as the Moogle was preparing to close the shop up for Christmas.  
"What do you want, kupo? We're….oh, it's you, kupo!" he recognized Alex and quickly ducked under the counter for a moment. He reappeared shortly afterward with a skateboard-length present wrapped in Keyblade patterned wrapping paper and tied with a blue bow.  
"Here it is, kupo! Have your- oh, there it is!" He grabbed the slip, glanced at it for a second, then said, "Alrighty kupo, you're all set! Merry Christmas!"  
"Thank you!" Alex said breathlessly. "And Merry Christmas!" She quickly ran up to Station Heights while the Moogle closed up his shop for the holidays.

Finally, she had made it up to the Station and waited for a few minutes until Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrived to meet her.  
"Ready to go?" Sora asked, smiling as he put his arm around her.  
"Of course!" she laughed. "Let's go!"

* * *

The group arrived at Disney Castle and were welcomed in by a pair of brooms. They escorted them to the throne room, which was decorated festively with a tree, tinsel, lights, and all sorts of Christmas décor. All of their friends were there, laughing, chatting, and eating. It wasn't long before Kairi and Yuffie had run up to greet them.  
"Merry Christmas!" Kairi said with a smile as she handed each of them gingerbread cookies that she had made. Yuffie, meanwhile, asked them if they had any presents for her.  
"You obviously don't get the meaning of "Secret Santa", do you Yuffie?" Leon rolled his eyes at the girl. "You're not supposed to ask people if they got your present." He clamped a hand on Sora's shoulder and said, "Merry Christmas you guys. Come on in."

After grabbing some sparkling juice from a snack table, Sora and Alex strolled over to a plush couch. They sat down and talked with Riku, Kairi, Tidus, and Selphie for a while, until Queen Minnie cleared her throat to make an announcement.  
"All right everyone! Time for presents!" she said cheerfully. She walked over to the massive tree and pulled the first present out from under it.  
"This one is for Donald, from Daisy." she handed the box to the sorcerer duck, who gleefully began to shake it, wondering what was inside.

Soon, everyone had a present in hand and the Queen gave them permission to open their gifts. Sora tore the paper off his gift from Alex, then opened the box to find his custom skateboard.  
"Wow!" he said, lifting it up from the box to admire it. He turned to Alex, still grinning as brightly as ever, and said, "It's amazing!"  
"I wanted to get you something really special." she said with a smile. "That skateboard is the reason I had to leave yesterday. Well, that and fruitcake." She laughed.  
"Well, I love it! Thank you!" he pulled her into a tight hug.  
"You're welcome!" she said as well as she could; being caught in his hug made it hard to breathe, let alone speak.  
"Sora, let go of her before she suffocates!" Donald snapped.  
"Yeah. She has a present to open." Riku said as he eyed the package that sat beside her. It was wrapped in paper and a bow that could have only come from Christmas Town.  
"Oh yeah!" Sora let go of her, then shoved the small box into her hand. "Come on! Open it!" he said excitedly.  
"Ok, ok." she laughed, untying the bow and opening the box. Inside, she found the ring on it's long chain, and a gift certificate for free ice cream at Scrooge's shop.  
She lifted the necklace from the box. "Oh, Sora, it's beautiful!" she said, watching as the light glinted off of it. Sora took it from her hands, undid the clasp, and put it around her neck before putting his arms around her. "It took forever to get all the items for it. I spent a lot of time getting them; that's why I couldn't always do stuff with you. I'm sorry." he whispered, resting his chin on her shoulder.  
"It okay. I love it!" She took the certificate from the box.  
"Free ice cream. Sweet!" she said, tucking it into her bag. She leaned her head against Sora and smiled, before softly saying "Sora. Thank you."

They sat there for a peaceful minute until they heard the sounds of giggling and chuckling. They looked around to see what was so funny, and noticed Yuffie pointing upwards. Looking up, they saw Huey, Dewey, and Louie stacked on top of each other. Louie was on top, hovering just above them and holding a piece of mistletoe.  
"Well come on! Kiss already!" he urged. The two of them smiled at each other, and then leaned in and kissed. Then, Sora pulled her close to him and whispered,  
"Merry Christmas."


End file.
